What’s new
What we’ve shipped lately — newest first.
About: a film-editorial manifesto, not a readme
The About page is built on a twelve-column grid so copy and art jump like a magazine spread. The hero headline is now The film curation engine, with the same oversized type and crimson rule as before. Three figure panels anchor the story: a vintage card catalog for the archive-versus-decision idea, an archival narrator still beside “Why Bonshi?”, and a textured film strip for taste beyond tags. Every image sits in a charcoal frame with archival black-and-white treatment, rounded corners, and a soft print-style edge so nothing feels like a stock banner.
Letterboxd lists, the mood line, and brand truth
The Letterboxd “Your lists” control lines up with the list URL field using the same text inset as the rest of the console, so the row reads as one piece of hardware. On the homepage, the mood line calls out Bonshi by name. Brand guidelines and the architecture manifest were brought in sync with the live cream-field home and the new About experience.
Recommendations, routing, and layout for this Next stack
We tightened behavior on the recommendation and query paths, adjusted the app layout for the current Next.js setup (including how edge routing is wired), and kept the UI chrome consistent with those changes. Mostly invisible, but it keeps curations and imports behaving the way the interface promises.
A bolder look for type and the "How it works" steps
We refreshed the headline and logo with a new display typeface that feels richer on screen. The three steps under the main input are clearer, with numbered accents and copy that matches each mode. The input line is easier to spot, and on phones you can still trim or swap a poster after you remove a title from your list — those controls stay within reach.
Clearer tabs, better export messaging, and smoother errors
The home screen got a cleaner tab bar and more consistent behavior when you switch how you search. When you export, we spell out what you get — details, ratings, and where to watch. New visitors see a short tip above their results to help them curate. If movie data can’t load, you’ll see a clearer message instead of a blank failure. Letterboxd labels are easier to read, and hiding films you’ve already seen feels more reliable.
Smoother on mobile, smarter Letterboxd sync
Scrolling, spacing, and poster layouts on small screens are tuned so nothing feels cramped or misaligned. After you link Letterboxd, we keep filling in your watch history in the background, so “Hide what I’ve already seen” gets better over time without making you wait on the first load.
Opening animation, faster Letterboxd, and a steadier connection
We added the animated Bonshi opening and refined the top bar with a warmer gold accent. Linking your Letterboxd account is faster and more reliable: your watched count shows up right away, imports are cached so repeat visits feel snappier, and the app handles busy servers and temporary blocks more gracefully. Quick connect pulls more of your films up front so exclusions are more accurate from the start.
The theater-dark home screen and sharper curation tools
Bonshi now opens like a title card — dark charcoal, subtle grain, then a clean cream area for your picks. Once recommendations start, the hero tucks away so your list stays front and center. Swapping suggestions works column by column so each row feels intentional. Icons for remove and swap are clearer, and fixes to typography and “hide watched” landed alongside the new look.
Welcome to the new Bonshi
We launched the cinematic home experience — the dark hero, film texture, and your first recommendations — with a layout tuned for phones as well as desktop. Behind the scenes we kept the site private from search engines while we finished polishing.
Where the new direction started
We locked in the previous look and feel so we could go all-in on the theater-inspired design you see today. Everything listed after this date is part of that new Bonshi.